Emil and Remy's Summer Vacation
by Cajun Quinn
Summary: Remy takes Emil to Florida for a little R&R to celebrate Emil's 25th birthday and the 15th anniversary of the start of their friendship. Chapter Six uploaded!! Surprise guest appearances!!Please r/r!
1. Day One

Emil and Remy's Summer Vacation

Emil and Remy's Summer Vacation

(NOTE: They aren't mine, except for James Armstrong and any other people you don't recognize. I would like to thank my friend LA right now for giving me a single idea that resulted in the plot for this story hitting me and demanding to be started immediately. So what if I missed most of the Jays game I had been trying to watch on CBC? It doesn't matter, I can watch the Jays any day, and besides, LA finally admitted that Emil's cute too! Woo! Maybe now she knows why I focus on him so much!)

Day One

The safehouse of the Unified Guilds of New Orleans was quiet, except for the sound of footsteps walking through the house. Theoren Marceaux reached his destination and knew what he had to say was going to make a certain member of the Guild very happy. He poked his head into the kitchen, where his young cousin Emil Lapin was sitting at the table staring at the clock on the wall as if he was waiting for it to start dancing or something. Theoren smiled and made his announcement. 

"Remy's here, kid."

Emil's blue eyes lit up with excitement and he decided not to hide it. "Woohoo! Finally!" He exclaimed as he stood up, and, after picking up the large backpack and duffel bag, he followed Theoren out to the main foyer to meet their cousin.

Emil had every reason to be excited, and no one blamed him. It was less than two weeks from his twenty-fifth birthday and as a present, Remy had made arrangements for the two of them to take sailing lessons in Florida and spend two weeks on the coast outside Miami. He knew Emil would be delighted with the gift, and he hadn't been wrong. Emil had always wanted to learn how to sail.

Remy laughed as he walked into the room. "I s'pose you been packed an' ready to go for a week, huh?"

"More like since de day you told him, Remy." Theoren said. Aside from being a cousin of the two younger men, Theo was also the closest thing to a father figure they had since their own fathers had died. "I wish you weren' goin' out-of-state for dis trip t'ough…"

Both Remy and Emil caught the unease and worry evident in Theoren's voice. Emil rolled his eyes and sighed as he headed out the door.

Remy and Theoren stared at each other, each of them thinking of that time, almost exactly ten years prior to this trip, when Remy's developing mutant powers had inadvertently caused the death of Theoren's adored baby brother Etienne. That had changed their lives forever, and Theoren had never quite trusted Remy since, even though it had been an accident.

"We can' take sailin' lessons here an' actually have a vacation away from everythin' else in our lives, Theo." Remy said quietly. "I checked, b'lieve me. Nothin' will happen, our teacher is a professional instructor. B'sides, Emil's wanted to do dis all his life, you know dat better den I do."

Theoren sighed and agreed. "Oui, I know. Jus'…don' disappoint me, Remy. Call me when you get dere."

"I ain' fifteen anymore, Theo. Please trust me. An' yeah we will. I promise."

Theoren nodded and watched Remy leave. "Okay…have fun."

Remy pulled the car out of the driveway and headed towards the airport, trying to will himself to be more upbeat. He failed though, because he kept thinking about Etienne. Emil noticed the waves of thoughtful sadness radiating from Remy and said something as they took the exit towards the airport. "Everythin' okay, Rem?"

"Oh…yeah…oui, everythin's fine, Emil. Jus' t'inkin', dat's all." Remy replied, trying to smile and not quite managing it.

"Theo was doin' a lot of dat earlier, too." Emil observed. "He was havin' a real hard time agreein' to dis."

Remy sighed. "He's got a pretty valid reason."

"True. But we ain' kids, an' we ain' gon' on a job. It's not de same."

"Dat's what I said to him. An' t'anks to Warren, we've also got one of de best professional sailin' instructors in de world teachin' us. He won' let us go out until he's convinced we know what we're doin'."

"Dat's good. Who is he?" Emil questioned as they parked the car and walked to the terminal. 

"His name is James Armstrong an' he was even on de British Olympic Sailin' Team a few years back. He came highly recommended by Warren an' a few other people as well." Remy explained as the got their bags checked and headed to the gate.

Emil checked his watch eighty-five times before they had even boarded the plane and sixteen more times before the plane even left the runway.

"Time won' go any faster dat way, y'know." Remy joked tolerantly. 

"Yeah, yeah, I know, but I jus' really wan' get dere!" Emil returned with an anticipant smile, his blue eyes sparkling but betraying his fatigue. He had not slept for one minute the night before due to his excitement and within moments he was napping peacefully, using Remy's shoulder as a pillow.

Ten minutes before they landed in Miami, Remy woke his cousin up, so Emil could look out the window as they approached. Remy got a kick out of Emil, who was as excited as a little kid on Christmas morning.

The cottage Remy rented for the two weeks was located on a beach in an area outside Miami. As they drove up in the taxi they hailed outside the airport, they were both struck with the same thought. The cottage was a large beautiful home that reminded them of Tante Mattie's family home in Slidell. It was perfect.

Their sailing lessons weren't scheduled to start until the next morning, so they settled into the cottage and unpacked their belongings. Then, true to his word, Remy called the guild safehouse and let Theoren know they had arrived. They ate a late lunch at a diner down the road from the cottage, and then went back to the cottage, retiring to their chosen bedroom and getting a much-needed afternoon nap.

Emil woke up around six p.m. and walked through the house looking for Remy. He wasn't alarmed when his cousin was nowhere to be found inside the building, because he knew Remy wouldn't go far without telling him. Sure enough, Remy was sitting on the porch steps outside the cottage, smoking a cigarette and staring out at the nearby ocean. Before Emil could sit down and join him, Remy stood up and grinned. "C'mon."

Together, they walked down to the sandy shore, breathing in the warm salty air. They took off their shoes and socks and walked along the edge of the water, peacefully at first, then getting playful.

"Hey!" Remy exclaimed as he was ambushed from behind by Emil and splashed. Emil chuckled and darted away as Remy raced after him. They chased each other through the shallow water, each trying to splash the other. The game ended when Remy succeeded in tripping Emil, knocking him off balance, and Emil succeeded in taking Remy down with him.

Drenched to the skin, they sat in the warm waves and laughed until they couldn't laugh anymore because it hurt too much. Born just weeks apart, this summer also marked the fifteenth anniversary of their friendship, which was Remy's other reason for wanting to do something memorable with Emil, away from the disturbances caused by the guild and the X-men. 

As they walked back to the cottage, picking up their discarded shoes and socks on the way, Remy studied Emil, who had always been more like a brother to him than a cousin. He noticed with a smile that Emil looked more relaxed and content than he had since the unification of the Thieves and Assassins Guilds almost a year before.

Emil caught Remy smiling at him and promptly crossed his blue eyes, making Remy crack up laughing again. He attempted to spike his damp, wavy red hair and failed miserably, his mock frustration making Remy laugh even harder.

With an absent shrug and a lopsided grin, Emil explained his actions. "Figured I'd give you a reason to be smilin' at me de way you were."

They paused at the cottage doorway and looked back at the ocean. The sun had begun to set and the effect of the multicolored rays of light bouncing off the water was awe-inspiring. Emil smiled with a peaceful sigh, his blue eyes shining as he took in the beauty of the scene before them. Had he looked at Remy, he would have seen the same expression in his cousin's strangely unique red-on-black eyes, but he didn't think to.

Before he turned to go inside the cottage, Remy gave Emil's shoulder a brotherly squeeze and said, his voice quiet,

"Happy birthday, Red."

To Be Continued


	2. Day Two

Day Two

Day Two

At eight-fifteen a.m. the next morning, Remy's alarm clock started buzzing and woke him up out of a very sound sleep. For a brief second, he contemplated using his mutant powers to incinerate the clock but then woke up a bit more and realized he was going to need the clock for at least the first week of the vacation. So he sighed reluctantly and reached over, shutting the alarm off. 

"Gon' haveta see 'bout makin' dese lessons a little later." He grumbled, flipping the covers off his slim, muscular body and swinging his legs over the side. He pulled his green bathrobe off the nearby chair and pulled it on as he headed out of his room. He paused on his way down to the kitchen and quietly opened Emil's bedroom door.

Remy smiled softly as he stood in the doorway and watched Emil sleeping for a moment before waking him up. Emil's thick red hair contrasted on the white pillow, creating a unique, almost candy-cane-like effect. Remy looked at his watch and had to wake his cousin up so they could eat breakfast and not be late for their first sailing lesson at 9:30.

He walked over and lightly kicked Emil's bed. "Rise an' shine, mon ami!"

"Mmph?" Emil mumbled incoherently. He pulled the covers over his head. "Go 'way."

Remy laughed. "No way. Don' you wan' learn how to sail?"

Emil pushed the covers off his head and peeked over them at Remy. "Yeah…but it's too early…"

"I t'ought de same t'ing, but it'll be worth it, at least for today." Remy said, reaching over and yanking the covers down. "C'mon. Let's eat."

*****

James Armstrong was waiting at the marina for Remy and Emil. He was a man in his mid-thirties with wavy brown hair and piercing brown eyes. He gave the younger men a smile and wave as they approached. 

"'Ello boys!" He greeted them, coming off the sailboat and joining them on the marina dock.

"Bonjour Monsieur Armstrong. T'anks for agreein' to givin' us some lessons." Remy replied, shaking the older man's hand. "I'm Remy LeBeau an' dis is my cousin Emil Lapin."

James scoffed. "Think nothing of it. And please, call me James. Everyone else does." He looked at Emil. "So you're the lucky birthday boy, huh?"

Emil grinned and blushed slightly. "Yeah…I've always wanted to learn how to sail. An' I have to agree wit' Remy on dis…t'anks."

"Okay," James said briskly, deciding to get to the point. "I t'ink to start off our lessons, I'll take you on a tour of de boat and show you some basic t'ings you'll learn more in-depth later. After that, what do you think about going out for a little sail, so you get a feel of being on the water and can see first hand what needs to be done to sail a boat correctly?"

Remy and Emil looked at each other and then looked back at James with matching smiles on their faces. "Sounds good." Remy agreed. "Whatever you want to do is fine."

"First off, are there any preliminary questions?" James asked.

"What did you name de boat?" Emil laughed. "I heard everyone gives deir boats names."

James laughed as well. "Good first question, Emil. Yes all boats are given names by their owners. I named this one "The Princess of Wales" because I bought it in 1997, four days before Diana was killed. The boat I owned before this one was called "The Floating Emerald" because it was a shiny emerald green color. Now, if you both will follow me, I'll give you the grand tour."

The sailboat was one of the larger boats docked at the marina, and the inside was a stunning combination of dark wood, glass and fiberglass. James showed them the boat from end-to-end, top to bottom, pointing out various parts of the craft. Both cousins recognized some of the terms he used. They spent the morning with James on the boat and then he took them to a local diner for lunch.

"I have food on the boat, but I thought it would be fun to save that for some other time, perhaps this evening." He explained as they drove to the diner in his SUV.

When lunch was done, they went back to the marina to get ready for their afternoon sail. Remy and Emil both helped James with the preparations with his guidance. By the time they were ready to go, excitement was running high for both James' students.

*****

Before they set sail, James told Remy and Emil that the first sailing thing they should do is check the radio to make sure it's working and call the weather center nearby just in case there is less than beautiful weather on the horizon. They watched him as he did those things and discovered the weather was perfect for that afternoon. They couldn't be happier, and then they set sail.

Emil looked at Remy, his eyes glowing. "Dis is so damn cool…!" He exclaimed softly. It would be even cooler when he and Remy were the ones in charge of sailing a boat, but it still thought it was amazing, and Remy agreed with him.

"I know, isn' it?"

They sailed along in the bright sunshine for well over two hours, with Remy reminding Emil every fifteen minutes to make sure his sunblock was still working. As far as any of them were concerned, the afternoon was perfect, and they were having such a great time that none of them noticed a serious problem making its way towards them.

Around four-thirty, they stopped sailing and went into the kitchen area of the sailboat. Remy and Emil helped James make their supper, with very few checks on if everything was okay outside. When they were finished, they took their plates of food up to the deck so they could sit and look at the ocean as they ate and got a huge, unexpected surprise.

"Oh mon dieu…" Remy breathed, knowing the scene before them was not a good one. He got a feeling the people at the weather center had not known of this, or else they would have said so.

James looked at his students with a sinking feeling. He was going to have to ask them for a lot of help, help he knew they weren't ready to give him. But he didn't have a choice. They were going to learn the art of sailing under difficult conditions very quickly. Or so he hoped.

"I hate to tell you this, boys, but we're going to have to postpone supper until we get back to Florida." He began, understanding the downcast look that appeared in their faces all too well. They were hungry. Hell, so was he. But they couldn't afford to waste anymore time. "We have to get off the water. If we get caught in this storm, we'll be in serious trouble. I'm hoping we still have time to stay ahead of it, but I am going to need your help to do that."

Emil and Remy watched James take their plates down to the kitchen and then looked at each other, looks of pure panic mirrored on their faces. 

"We ain' ready for dis, Rem…" Emil said quietly. "An' what happens if we don' stay ahead of de storm?"

Remy set his lips in a thin line and sighed. "I know we ain', but we have to try. Remember as much as we can of what he told us dis mornin' an' do a lot of prayin'. An' if we get caught in de storm, den we pray a hell of a lot more an' hope for de best."

When James rejoined them on the deck, he saw the fear-driven determination in their faces and was somewhat relieved. Even if they didn't know what they were doing, they were going to try. Which was all he could really hope for and more than other people he'd taught would have done. He started barking orders to them and as quickly as they could, they got the boat heading towards Florida again.

The dark clouds and high, cool winds came up on them very quickly and within an hour there wasn't a patch of blue sky to be seen in any direction. The once-calm water now tossed the boat from one huge wave to another and both the wind and rain made it nearly impossible for the three to hear each other even when they were yelling. At one point, as they dashed around trying to keep the boat on course, Remy caught a vibe and looked at Emil. Remy had only seen Emil's "I-have-never-been-so-scared-in-my-whole-life" look once before, the afternoon after Emil's father was murdered by the Assassins Guild ten years before, and this time it was no less worrying. Remembering his promise not to let Theoren down, Remy forced a smile and yelled to Emil.

"Jus' keep goin'! It's all we can do!"

Emil nodded, knowing that Remy had picked up on his feelings and continued working, shoving his fears as far away from the surface as he could.

Noticing how rough the sea was getting, James motioned for the two of them to join him in the kitchen for a quick meeting. He looked at them gravely when they got there.

"We're in the middle of the storm, there's no way we can get out of it, so we're going to have to decide what to do."

Emil refused to say a word, so Remy was the one who asked the question. "What options do we got, James?"

"We can stay here, keep fighting our way along with the storm and be taken to goodness only knows where. Or we can, as they say in movies, abandon ship." James explained. He then waited for them to talk it over.

"I don' care, Rem. Whatever you t'ink our best course of action is, I'm wit' you. Jus' as long as we ain' separated, it don' make a diff'rence to me." Emil said, his voice barely audible. Remy nodded and looked back at James.

"If we stay here, dere's a chance de boat could get destroyed an' we could get separated and/or hurt. If we abandon de boat now, we might actually have a better chance of survivin' dis." He said. "Since dat's de case, we'd like to vote for option two."

James sighed. "I had a feeling you'd go that route." He gave each of them a waterproof backpack and told them to fill it with food, water, matches and anything else they thought might be needed. They then strapped the packs on their backs and went back up to the deck. Before they had a chance to say another word, a huge wave tossed the boat high into the wind, sending all three of them flying into the dark angry waters.

When Remy came to the surface, the first thing he did was yell as loud as he could while trying to avoid swallowing a ton of salt water. 

"EMIL!" 

Remy looked around frantically, but was unable to see the boat, James or, worse, his cousin. He kept yelling, but started to swim as well, fighting the storm as best he could, wishing Ororo was there so he could convince her to use her powers to stop an act of mother nature just this once. But she wasn't, so he just swam, trusting his instincts for the direction.

A few hundred yards away, Emil was desperately trying to stay awake. Something in his head told him to start swimming in this direction since he surfaced, even though he really had no idea where he was heading. He kept talking to himself, willing himself to keep going even though he was exhausted and just wanted to close his eyes and sleep. Common sense and a desire to live to see the rest of his life told him sleeping was not an option, at least not yet, so he swam.

What seemed like an eternity later, both Remy and Emil both won their battle with the storm and reached shore on the same beach.

Emil dragged himself far enough up the beach so he'd be out of the water if the tide came in any further, took off the backpack and collapsed, tears of fatigue and fear mingling with the rain on his cheeks as he passed out.

Remy sat on the sand when he got there and looked around, wondering what the outcome of the day's events was going to be. With his sharp vision, he spotted something down on the far end of the beach that didn't look like it belonged there. Finding some energy, he got up and walked along the beach, cursing at the wind and rain in French even though he knew it wouldn't do any good. As he walked, he realized what he had seen was not a thing at all, but a person. It was Emil.

Almost hysterical from worry, Remy groggily ran the rest of the way and, after tossing his backpack beside Emil's, he dropped to his knees beside his cousin. Remy checked Emil's pulse, and after being assured his best friend was not dead, but merely sleeping deeply, he sighed with relief.

"Oh t'ank you God…" he whispered. He lay down on the sand, stretching out beside Emil, leaving around of a foot of sandy space between them. Before he closed his eyes and submitted to sleep himself, he reached over and gently brushed a stray lock of red hair off Emil's forehead. Emil somehow knew he wasn't alone and sighed softly as he slept, causing Remy to fall asleep with a smile on his face.

To Be Continued


	3. Day Three

Day Three

Day Three

The storm was over when the hot sunshine woke Emil Lapin up the next morning. Every muscle in his body ached but he made himself open his eyes and sit up. What amazed him was the knowledge that it didn't even look like the storm had happened. He smiled when he noticed Remy sleeping beside him, and was also glad to see that their backpacks had not gone missing during the night.

Before waking his friend, Emil looked around them. The aqua waves were calm and Emil could see seagulls flying around. Behind them, there were dense forests of tropical trees, bushes and wildlife, and behind that a small mountain. On the far end of the beach Emil could see a stream flowing to the ocean; he found himself absently hoping it was fresh water. It occurred to him that he was hungry, so he decided it was time to wake Remy up.

Gently shaking Remy's shoulder, Emil spoke his cousin's name quietly, in an effort to not startle him too much. "Remy. Hey Remy, wake up. De storm's over."

Remy's strange red-on-black eyes opened and as he sat up he complained about how sore he was. "One t'ing I don' ever wan' do 'gain is try to swim t'rough a hurricane. I don' s'pose we managed to swim to Florida, huh?"

Emil shook his head. "Non…it don' look like anythin' I've ever seen of de coast of Florida. I t'ink we're on an island somewhere. I jus' don' know where."

"Okay." Remy sighed, trying to figure out what their first plan should be. He stood up and looked at his cousin. "I t'ink we should maybe find out if dat stream down dere is fresh or salt water. Den maybe we should look for a cave for shelter, or a place to build one of our own. An' is dere any sign of James?"

"No. I ain' seen him since we left de kitchen after we'd decided to abandon de boat." Emil replied, standing up and walking with Remy down to the stream he had seen earlier. They took their packs with them planning on starting their shelter search right away.

Remy knelt down by the water and cupped his hands, dipping them into the cool water and taking a drink. "It's fresh, t'ank God. If we run out of de water we have in our packs, we can use dis. Which means we won' die."

Emil took a drink of the water as well after he was overcome with a sudden thirst he couldn't explain. When they were finished, they crossed the stream and started walking, hoping to find a shelter and clues as to their location.

*****

Tante Mattie had been comfortably reading a book in her New Orleans home when the storm suddenly appeared in the South Atlantic. In the middle of a sentence, she lowered the book, feeling uneasy and worried. She reached over and picked up the remote for her television and, eyes wide, learned of the hurricane that no one had been able to predict. She tried to shake off her feeling of dread, but couldn't help thinking that her boys were in trouble. She had been a key person in the lives of Remy and Emil since they were born and had a special bond with both of them.

"It makes no sense," she thought. "Dey should be safe from harm in de cottage, an' yet I've got dis feelin' dey ain' safe at all…"

A quiet knock sounded on the backdoor of her house, a sound Mattie would not have heard if she'd been anyone else in the world. But she was mother figure, spiritual healer and guide to the New Orleans Thieves and Assassins Guilds and had been for many years. She was used to hearing almost non-existent knocks, words and other sounds.

When she opened the door Mattie wasn't surprised at who she saw in the shadows of her back porch. Theoren Marceaux, Mercy LeBeau, Claude Potier, Genard Alouette and Zoe Ishihara were the last remaining members of Clan LeBeau, and the only living family Emil and Remy had. Mattie realized her feelings must be well founded if they felt the need to show up at her door unexpected.

"Come in, all of you." She said to them, moving aside so they could join her. There was an overlying sense of uncertainty and fear among the five thieves. As the others went to sit in the living room and watch the news, Mattie noticed something and put a hand on Theoren's arm. She'd known all of them since they were born, and in all of Theoren's life, she had never once seen him shaking as badly as he was then.

Theoren looked at her, his dark eyes silently begging the healer to tell him they were wrong, to tell him they were overreacting because of the sudden storm. She understood the look and sighed. "If I could tell you dat, I would, chil'. Right now I t'ink all we can do is sit an' wait until we hear from dem."

"I'm scared." Theoren admitted, his voice almost inaudible. It took something that shook him to the core of his being to make him say those two words and as they joined the others in the living room, Mattie gave his hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

"Tante Mattie, can you tell us anythin'?" Mercy asked as they sat down. She was Remy's sister-in-law as well as a member of the group of thieves who helped Emil's father raise him. The five anxious thieves looked at Mattie for an answer to Mercy's question, and the old woman sighed.

"Dey're alive, but somethin' tells me dey're in de middle of dat storm somehow," she told them. "I can' say anythin' more'n dat, I'm sorry."

For the rest of the night, the six kept a worried vigil, watching the updates on the storm on television and praying that Remy and Emil were okay.

*****

"It ain' a big island."

That was Remy's comment when he and Emil wound up back at the stream where they started three hours later. They had walked around the entire circumference of the island without finding a single cave for shelter.

"Well, I t'ink we should try to find a place close to de stream to build a shelter." Emil suggested. "Dat way we won' have far to go if we need it."

Remy nodded in agreement. They started searching for a suitable area near the stream and finally decided to use the trees as a back wall. They constructed a shelter using the trees, branches and palm leaves. It was crude and rather funny-looking when it was finished, but at least it would keep them dry if it rained again.

When the shelter was finished, they created a fire pit, and sorted out their food and water supplies. They had to make what they had last as long as they could.

"Dis is like a really drastic version of _Survivor_." Emil commented, his voice low. They had discovered that if they rationed their food and water enough, they had enough to last three days. And three days was not a long time when no one knew where you were or what had happened. Emil sat by the fire, pulling his knees up to his chest as the sun set and sighed deeply. "I wan' go home…"

Remy walked over to his cousin and sat down beside him, putting an arm around Emil's shoulders comfortingly. "Me too, Red."

To Be Continued


	4. Day Four

Day Four

(NOTE: I've decided with this story to go with the idea that Remy still has his extended powers and therefore has not fought New Son). 

***** 

When Remy woke up the next day he looked over to where Emil had been and got the shock of his life when he saw his best friend was nowhere to be found. "Emil?" He called. Not getting any answer, he sat up, rubbing his eyes groggily. "Now where'd he get off to?" He asked the shelter. Shaking his head, he got up and headed out into the bright morning sun, using his hands to shield his eyes, scanning the beach for his cousin. 

A few yards away from the shelter, Emil sat on a boulder, working intently at something Remy couldn't make out. As he walked closer, Remy realized what his companion was doing. 

"You t'ink any fish are gon' take de hook when you ain' got no bait?" He laughed as he approached. 

Emil looked up and shrugged. "You got any better ideas? Dat food we got ain' gon' last long an' I don' really wan' starve..." 

"Good point, mais, I'm sure we could find some fruit an' berries an' roots an' stuff to eat too y'know." 

"You go right ahead, Remy. I t'ink I'll stick wit' tryin' to con a few fish. At least for now." 

"Suit yourself, mon ami." Remy started walking towards the trees in search of different kinds of food. Emil watched him for a second before stopping him. 

"Hey Rem?" 

Remy paused and looked back, catching the subdued look on Emil's usually sunny face. "Yeah?" 

"You t'ink de others know what happened?" 

Remy thought for a few moments before answering. "De storm was prob'ly on de news." He replied. "My guess is yes. An' dey're prob'ly worried too, seein' as how dey can' get in touch wit' us an' don' know where we were when de storm hit." 

"What do you t'ink dey'll do?" Emil mostly meant Theoren, and Remy knew it. Remy also knew he had to make sure absolutely no harm came to Emil, or Theo would skin him alive. 

"I don' know...wait for a day or two until dey're positive we ain' gon' call 'em, an' den fly to Miami an' organize a search, I guess." Remy replied. 

Emil nodded and went back to tying his fishing line to the stick he'd found. Remy stood and watched his cousin for a moment before continuing on his way into the woods. He knew Emil was scared and it didn't ease his mind any to know that he was scared too. 'Wish I had a homin' beacon or somethin' so de X-Men could come an' pick us up...' He thought as he walked. 

***** 

"You should get some sleep, child." Tante Mattie said. "De others are." 

Theoren sighed and didn't move. He had been sitting at Mattie's kitchen table for three hours, head in hands, elbows on the table, a cup of cold coffee in front of him. He silently cursed himself for sighing; he'd never been the type of person who got easily rattled about anything, especially his own emotions, but right now, he just wanted the damned phone to ring. 

"I can' sleep Tante. I swear...if anythin' happened to dem..." 

The old woman chuckled lightly and sat down across from the worried thief. "You mean if anythin' happened to Emil. You never really cared 'bout what happened to Remy an' you know it." She chided. 

"Should I?" Theo demanded quietly. "If it wasn' for Remy an' his powers, my little brother would be alive today. An' now...dis...I should never have agreed to dis..." 

"Remy wasn' to blame for Etienne's death an' you know it, Theoren Marceaux." Mattie scolded. "Stop makin' him your scapegoat. He used his powers to try an' save Et." Softening her voice, she continued. "An' you agreed to dis trip b'cause in spite of your hard exterior an' all de fights you two have, you love nothin' more den spoilin' an' indulgin' Emil." 

"Yeah well...Francois entrusted me wit' takin' care of Emil an' I'll never forgive myself if somethin' happened to him. Not jus' now. Anytime." 

"You can' protect him from everythin' life's gon' throw at him, Theo." Mattie murmured. "An' you ain' gon' live forever, either." 

Theoren sighed. "I know..." 

***** 

"Any luck?" Remy called to his cousin as he arrived back from his excursion with a couple of coconuts and not much else. Emil had stopped fishing and was digging around in their food supply. 

"Yeah a little." Emil replied absently, pointing to the small pile of small fish laying beside the fire, waiting to be cooked. "But Remy...we got a problem." 

"What's dat?" Remy asked, dropping his coconuts and joining Emil in the shelter. 

"Look." Emil showed Remy their food supply. In the heat, with them unable to refridgerate it properly, well over half the food had gone bad, or was going bad. "What're we gon' do?" 

Remy glanced over at the fish. "Fry dat fish up for one t'ing, b'fore goes bad too. Other den dat we'll have to bot' go lookin' for food...a few fish an' a couple of coconuts ain' gon' last very long." 

***** 

Back in New Orleans, Tante Mattie had finally convinced Theoren to at least take a nap, no matter how short it was. With her thieves securely sleeping in various parts of her house, the old woman took the opportunity of quiet to meditate and listen to the spirits. 

Mattie was deep in a meditating trance when she suddenly snapped out of it, eyes wide. As she came to, she cried out loud, arousing all the thieves. They came running and converged in the living room at the same time. 

"Tante Mattie, what is it? What's wrong?" Zoe asked, seeing that her four companions couldn't get the words out. 

Mattie looked at the five thieves. "Dey're alive, I can tell you dat. But dey're not gon' be for long if dey don' get rescued." She said. 

"Can you tell us anythin' other den dat?" Theoren asked quietly. 

"Oui." Mattie replied. "I had a vision when I was meditatin'. I saw dem, dat's how I know dey're alive. Dey were sailin' wit' deir instructor when de storm hit. Dey're on an island somewhere. Deir food is goin' bad very quickly...dey didn' have much to b'gin wit'. Chances are dey're gon' go explorin' for more food an' dat's where de danger comes in. Dere's caves an' poisonous snakes an' all sorts of deadly t'ings on dat island, only dey don' know it. An' I can' go to dem to warn dem. An' I can' even tell where de island is." 

"Not dat we could tell anyone anyway, even if you could, Tante." Mercy sighed. "How would we ever explain how we knew? But can you tell us if dey're okay? I mean you said dey're alive, but you didn' say how dey are." 

"Dey're fine from what I could see in de vision. Tired, hungry, sunburned an' scraped up a little, but fine. I could sense from bot' an' underlyin' fear dey don' wan' talk 'bout, but de main emotion from dem is a desire to come home. 

"Can' blame 'em for dat..." Claude commented. 

"I'm jus' worried 'bout what could happen when dey go explorin'." Mattie admitted. "Dere's so much danger..." 

***** 

"Emil slow down, would ya?" Remy asked, sounding exasperated. "Dis ain' a race." 

"Yeah I know. I'm jus' hungry. An' what if we don' find anythin' else? I mean you didn' find anythin' more den a few coconut trees...an' we can' live on coconuts an' de occasional fish..." 

Remy chuckled. "Many people have lived longer on less, mon cousin."   
  
For two hours, Remy and Emil had trekked deep into the jungles of the island, searching for edible berries, fruit and anything else they might be able to live off. They didn't know how long they'd be stuck on the island and didn't want to take any chances on being able to catch fish. 

Heeding his cousin's wishes, Emil slowed down and ended up walking just behind Remy. They were making paths of their own, as there were very few to be found in the jungle. 

Suddenly, Remy stopped, causing Emil to almost run into him. "Did you hear dat?" 

Emil blinked and listened. Hearing nothing, he shook his head. "Nope. Still don'. Why? What'd you hear?" 

"I don' know. Prob'ly nothin'. Let's jus' keep goin'." 

They kept walking and Remy didn't hear the noise again, so both forgot about it. Remy got a hundred yards or so ahead of Emil at one point, but Emil wasn't paying attention. He had paused to examine some berries, and had decided with pleasure that they had finally found something worth eating. 

Emil started to holler to Remy before he looked up. "Hey Rem! I found some rasp..." His voice trailed off as he looked up and realized he was standing face to face with a very large snake who had slithered out in front of him. The snake would have left well enough alone, which would have suited Emil fine, only hearing Emil's voice startled it and it went immediately into a defensive position, looking to Emil like it would strike if he moved. 

'Oh mon dieu where's Steve Irwin when you need 'im?' Emil thought, trying to keep his panic inside his head where it belonged instead of showing fear to the six-foot snake. Unsure what to do, Emil just stood there, frozen in place, barely blinking or breathing. 'How do I get Remy to come back here...?' 

Remy, who had heard Emil shouting to him and was wondering why his friend had stopped in mid-sentence, was making his way back to find out what was going on. He paused, silent, a dozen yards away and wondered what Emil was focusing so intently on. Emil knew Remy was there, but didn't dare take his eyes off the snake. Remy saw that his cousin was staring at something, so he followed Emil's gaze and saw the snake. Carefully he started charging the snake with biokinetic energy. 

Emil, seeing the snake starting to glow, knew what was happening and prayed it wouldn't be too messy. Five seconds later, the snake, unaware of what was happening, blew up, splattering Emil and the surrounding trees and bushes with blood. Emil wiped the blood off his face with his shirt and grimaced. "Okay, dat was gross, Remy. But t'ank you. Not quite up to Crocodile Hunter standards, but it'll do." 

"Jus' don' tell Steve-o on me an' it'll be fine." Remy joked, rejoining Emil. "So what's dis 'bout raspberries?" 

"Yeah! Found some." Emil pointed out the red berries with a smile. 

For the next hour the cousins picked raspberries, putting them in their packs. Suddenly, looking up, Remy realized it was getting dark. "Hey we better get back or we'll be out here all night." 

"Ooh...yeah. Okay wit' snakes an' all...I'd rather not do dat..." 

They started heading back to their shelter on the beach and were about half-way there when Remy spotted something a few yards off the path they'd made. His eyesight was very good, even in the dark, so he put down his pack and started heading off to find out what he'd seen. 

Emil stopped. "Remy what are you...?" 

"I'll be back in a sec, Red. I saw somethin'." Remy replied as he walked. Emil didn't like it one bit, because his eyesight wasn't as good as Remy's and he couldn't see his cousin after a few seconds. 

About two minutes after Remy headed off the path, Emil heard a loud crash and at the same time, Remy's voice crying out in alarm. Then, nothing. The jungle around him was completely silent. 

"Remy?" Emil called into the jungle. He was suddenly more scared than he'd ever been in his life. "REMY?!" 

***** 

Tante Mattie put down her knitting abruptly. "Oh no." 

The five thives, who had not left her house since they arrived there the day before, looked at her, all of them voicing the question in unison. "What is it?" 

"Somethin's happened. I don' know what, but somethin's happened. It's not good." 

"Oh dear God please..." Theoren whispered. 

***** 

"Remy?" Emil called again, praying that he'd be answered. When he wasn't, he almost sobbed. He was so scared his entire body was shaking, and he didn't know what to do. His instincts were telling him that Remy was hurt, and therefore, he had to do something, but he'd never been placed in this kind of situation before. He stood there in the dark for a moment, shaking, before he decided something had to be done. He placed his own pack down beside Remy's and sat down beside them. 

"Okay. Dat's it. I gotta pull myself together here." He said aloud. He found it actually helped to talk to himself because then it didn't seem so eerily quiet in the jungle. "I can do dis. Theoren's always complainin' how I've never taken charge of anythin', never been a leader in de Guild...well now it's me or no one. Time to prove all my trainin' hasn' been in vain, n'est-ce pas? So let's see...can' go back to de shelter an' wait 'til mornin' b'cause I'll never find him. Yet right now I know dat if I go straight ahead, I'll have to find him b'cause dat's where he went. But it's so dark..." 

Emil shivered and wished he had a flashlight. Then he suddenly realized he did. "If I could kick myself, I would..." He muttered, reaching into a small pouch on the side of his backpack and pulling out his flashlight. Like all the thieves, he never left home without a flashlight and a towline. Coming to the conclusion the towline might come in handy, he grabbed it as well. And then he dug into Remy's pack and got Remy's towline, having been struck with a pretty good idea when he looked at his own. 

He tied one end of Remy's towline to a tree on the side of the path he and Remy had made. Then, with his own towline hooked to his belt, he set off into the jungle where Remy had gone, his flashlight in one hand and Remy's towline in the other, letting it out as he walked. He was using Remy's towline as a guide so he'd be able to find his way back to the path when the time came. 

A few dozen feet into the jungle, Emil stopped, waving his flashlight around. On the ground he saw a hole that looked big enough to have been a well at one point. Or a trap for an animal. Upon closer inspection he saw that it had been covered over with wooden planks. "Remy mus'ta stepped on de planks an' dey're prob'ly so old dey gave way under his weight." He reasoned. "Dat's de crash I heard. An' since he ain' anywhere up here, dat means...Remy's down dere..." Emil swallowed. "Oh lord..." 

Emil took a deep breath and moved as close as he dared to the edge of the hole. He waved his flashlight around and concluded that the hole was approximately fifteen feet deep. And at the very bottom of the hole was Remy, unconscious and with what looked like a badly broken leg. 

With a deep sigh, Emil sat back. "Okay Lapin." He said to himself. "Jus' how on earth are you gon' handle dis...?" And for the remainder of what seemed like an endless night, Emil sat there beside the hole, thinking. 

To Be Continued 


	5. Day Five

Day Five

  


As day broke on the island, Emil had finally come up with some kind of plan. He looked down into the hole and noticed that Remy was still unconscious. Aside from the broken right leg, Emil now saw that there was a large gash on Remy's left arm and a nasty cut on the left side of his head. Emil could only imagine what other injuries his cousin had sustained in his fall. 

He sighed and went back to the two backpacks, which, surprisingly, were still where he'd left them the night before. He needed the pocket knife he knew was in his pack. He sighed again as he returned to the hole, this time taking both packs with him. 

"Too bad shovels couldn' be fit into backpacks..." He said to the surrounding jungle. "Dis is gon' take a million years...but it's de only idea I got..." 

Using his hands more than the knife because it went faster that way, Emil widened the hole at the top on one side and then started digging down in a slope. He was about half-done, five hours later, when he paused and realized just how hungry, tired and thirsty he was. He went to the stream and took a drink of water, then downed a few handfuls of raspberries before continuing on his mission. 

When he got the hole dug out enough so he could go down and get Remy out, Emil stopped. He then climbed down, as carefully as he could. He tied the towline around under Remy's arms and then climbed back out of the hole. Bracing himself as best he could, he started pulling on the towline, inch by inch dragging Remy's limp body out. Knowing he had more resources at the shelter, Emil passed on attending to Remy's injuries for the time being. He still had a big job ahead of him. 

After taking another break to eat more raspberries and drink more water, Emil got to work on the second part of his mission. Using the knife as a saw, he cut down branches and leaves. Then he got a roll of duct tape out of Remy's pack, absently laughing at the memory of two days before, when he'd asked Remy why he brought the tape with him. Now that tape was going to come in handy. Using the tape to hold everything together, Emil turned the branches and leaves into a makeshift stretcher. 

Once that was done, Emil stopped, leaning against a tree. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and chuckled. "What I wouldn' give for a shower right 'bout now..." 

As gently as he could, Emil lifted Remy up and put him on the stretcher, praying it held together. It did. He remembered a line from a show he, Remy and Etienne had watched when they were children. "Holdin' together wit' chicken wire an' good intentions." He laughed. "Yeah, tell me 'bout it." 

He rounded up his supplies and then put Remy's pack on the stretcher with his cousin and put his own pack on his back where it belonged. Then he picked up the top end of the stretcher and started walking back out towards the shelter. Twenty minutes into the hike, Emil's exhaustion overcame him and he stumbled, dropping the stretcher and falling to his knees. "I can'...I can'..." he sobbed wearily. All he wanted to do was go home and rest. But that wasn't an option, and he knew it, so after a brief breakdown, he pulled himself together again and got back to his feet. 

When Emil finally made it to the shelter, he sat down for a few minutes, knowing that he still had to get Remy cleaned up before he could actually get some sleep. 

Taking the knife, the tape, and a cloth he'd found at the bottom of Remy's pack, Emil dragged the stretcher over to the stream. He took Remy's boots off and cut his jeans on the leg that was broken. Using the cloth and water, he cleaned Remy's leg up a bit and then went in search of couple of sticks suitable for use as a splint. Once he found what he was looking for, he returned to Remy and, flinching in sympathy, put his cousin's leg back in place, securing it with one stick on either side. He secured the sticks with tape and then got to work on the rest of Remy's injuries. 

Remy was wearing a t-shirt, so that wasn't going to be of much help to Emil. After doing a closer examination, Emil was pleased to learn that there were no other inujuries aside from those he'd already found. He gently cleaned up the gash on Remy's arm and then realized he needed bandages for both injuries.   
  
"Good grief...what am I gon' use...?" He asked the water. Then he perked up and took off his own shirt, which was long-sleeved. "Bingo!" 

Emil cut both sleeves off his shirt and then put it back on. He used one sleeve to bandage Remy's arm up and then, after cleaning up the cut on Remy's head, he used the other sleeve as a bandage there. Then he dragged the stretcher back and into the shelter so Remy would be out of the sun. He built a fire so they'd have some heat and light if they woke up in the night and then ate some coconut before giving in to his exhaustion and collapsing next to Remy's stretcher, falling asleep in mere seconds. Nor did he wake up again for many hours. 

***** 

Off the coast of Florida, two men were walking along the beach. They were friends of James Armstrong and had been worried about their friend ever since he and his two students had not returned after the hurricane had hit. They were starting to lose hope that James and his companions would ever be found, but they still walked the beaches just in case. On that day, they spotted something they hadn't wanted to see. 

"Hey Mike, you see that?" Steve asked, pointing down the beach at something that looked out of place. 

"Yeah...looks like...my God..." Mike gasped. 

The two friends ran to where the object was and then stopped in horror. What they'd found washed up on the beach was a piece of The Princess of Wales. The boat itself was in pieces, shattered by the storm. They knew from looking at it that it was James' boat. When Steve turned it over, it was confirmed. The writing was on the other side. 

"...of Wales." Steve read quietly. "Mike, it's his boat. Shattered. There's no way..." 

"I know, Steve. But don't say there's no way." Mike agreed. "Let's get this to the coast guard. We have to get a search going. We can't just give up. Not until we find them." 

With that, Mike and Steve took their finding and headed back to the beach parking lot, on their way to the offices of the coast guard. 

***** 

That night, as the five worried thieves and their equally worried healer sat in subdued silence watching the news on CNN, they heard a report they hadn't wanted to hear. 

"Two friends of British sailor James Armstrong, whose boat went missing three days ago during the hurricane, found a piece of his sailboat, The Princess of Wales, on the beach a hundred miles from Miami this afternoon." The news anchor stated. "The coast guard started a search of the area and surrounding islands around 3 p.m. Eastern time for Mr. Armstrong and his two sailing companions, who were visiting from Louisiana. We're getting unconfirmed reports that Mr. Armstrong's body has been found in the water a few miles from where the piece of his boat was located. We'll keep you updated as we learn more." 

"Dis does not sound promisin'..." Genard commented quietly. 

"We must not give up hope." Tante Mattie said. "I know dey are alive. Jus' b'cause de news people don' know it, don' make it less true. We'll jus' keep prayin' an' keep watchin' CNN. It's all we can do." 

As Mattie finished speaking, the news anchor on CNN started up again. "We have just gotten word from the coast guard off the coast of Florida that they have confirmed through identification that the body they found this afternoon was indeed that of James Armstrong. The coast guard are stepping up their search for the other two men on the boat. At this time we do not have any information regarding who they are. The friends of Mr. Armstrong, who found the piece of his boat this afternoon, could not give us information other than they are tourists on vacation from Louisiana. We will keep updating this story as we get more information." 

"Dear lord..." Theoren said. "I don' know how much of dis I can handle..." 

"Tante Mattie's right, t'ough, Theo. We can' do anythin'. At least not tonight." Mercy reminded him. 

"Maybe not tonight, but tomorrow we can." Theoren returned. 

"Yeah? Like what? I don' see how we could do anythin' without riskin' gettin' ourselves arrested." Mercy argued. 

"Trust me." Theoren said with a grim smile. "An' no one goin' be t'inkin' 'bout us. Jus' trust me. Wait an' see." 

To Be Continued 

  



	6. Day Six

Day Six

(NOTE: So you wanna know what Theoren's plan is? Will Remy wake up? All I can say is, read on to find out! The characters are Marvel's, the story is mine, and one of these days I will actually get it finished!) 

***** 

The sun was shining, bright and hot, in the sky when a sound started stirring Emil out of his deep, exhaustion-induced slumber. With his keen senses, he could hear the sound even in sleep, and tried to figure out what it was in his dreams. The longer it took to figure out though, the more awake he became, and finally he was lying on the sand, eyes closed but fully awake. And the sound was clear as a bell. 

"...Mmmph...?" 

One word flashed though Emil's protesting mind. _Remy!_ His eyes snapped open and he sat bolt-upright in the same instant, turning to look at his best friend, who was still on the makeshift stretcher beside him. "Remy?" 

Remy was close to regaining consciousness but hadn't quite made it. Emil sighed as his cousin didn't reply to his question, having fallen back into his former unconscious state. 

"Dammit Remy don' do dat to me..." Emil complained. "Worried 'nough 'bout you as it is..." 

A frown tugging at his lips, Emil resumed his position and closed his eyes again. He was still tired, and he just wanted to sleep. If Remy wasn't awake, he didn't want to be either, because when he was awake without Remy to talk to he had more of a chance of scaring himself half to death or giving himself a nervous breakdown, neither of which would help the situation any. 

Five minutes later, however, Emil was getting up again. His body had insisted on it. He was thirsty. Emil gave in to his need for water and went to the stream. After he took a drink, he sat down on a rock near the ocean's edge, close enough to the shelter so that if Remy woke up, he'd be within earshot, and stared out at the calm, clear water. 

"Why hasn' anyone found us yet? What happened to James? Doesn' anyone know we're missin'?" He asked the ocean. "An' de rest of de Guild...do dey know? Are dey worried...?" 

Tears welled up in Emil's blue eyes. It was one thing to be safe in your hometown surrounded by people who can protect you if they're needed. But it was quite another thing to be virtually alone in a strange place with very little food and no way of contacting the outside world. "I'm scared..." He whispered. "I wan' go home..." 

***** 

There was a knock at the back door of Tante Mattie's house. Mercy, closest to the kitchen, told the healer not to get up. 

"I'll get it, Tante. It's prob'ly Bel an' de others." The blonde woman said. "Dey're prob'ly wonderin' why we ain' gone back to de safehouse to wait dis out wit' dem." 

Mercy walked out through the kitchen to the back door. She peeked out through the blinds and almost shook her head in amazement. She had been right. With a half-hearted smile she opened the door. Standing on the step were Bella Donna Boudreaux, Viceroy of the Unified Guild and former Matriarch of the Assassins Guild, and the rest of the Assassins: Gris-Gris, Fifolet, Singer and Questa.   
  
"Figured you'd be here when you weren' anywhere else." Bella Donna said quietly. 

"You cared 'nough to look for us, I'm impressed." Mercy couldn't stop the sarcastic remark from slipping out but instantly regretted it. In the short while since the two Guilds unified into one, they had all been doing the best they could to keep the peace and comments like that didn't help any. 

All five Assassins raised eyebrows at Mercy, who sighed. "Dat came out wrong...I'm sorry...c'mon in. An' I apologize in advance for any other such comments dat might come from de others...we're more'n a little stressed out right now..." 

Bella Donna led the Assassins into the house. They followed Mercy into the living room, where Tante Mattie and the other Thieves were still watching CNN. There had been more of James' boat recovered during the night and early morning hours, but still no sign of Remy and Emil anywhere. It was starting to seem like the two had dropped off the face of the earth, even though no one present believed that to be true. 

"No word yet?" Bel asked. 

Claude shook his head and spoke for the others. "Non. Theo says he's got a plan, but he won' tell us what it is. Not like any of us can form a search party...de cops'd be on us in minutes." 

Gris-Gris, leaning against the wall, his dark eyes keeping a keen watch on everyone around him, glanced at Theoren. "Marceaux? You gotta plan maybe you should tell us, non?" 

Theoren sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I know Gris." He stood up and moved to where he could see all of the assembled Guild members. "Well, it's like dis. I started t'inkin' last night. Dey got de Coast Guard an' everyone else out lookin' for de guys, right?" 

"Yeah...so?" Questa asked. 

"So? T'ink 'bout it. What're de authorities gon' find out if dey locate Remy an' Emil? Who dey are. An' subsequently, who de rest of us are too. We can' let de Coast Guard find 'em." Theoren said. 

"But how can we do dat?" Genard asked. "We can' go look for 'em for de same reasons, an' yet we don' wan' dem to find 'em either..." 

"Guys you ain' t'inkin'. We don' have to do a t'ing except make a phone call an' wait." Theoren explained. "Somehow, when Remy's down here, we all forget dat he's more'n just our Guild Patriarch." 

"De X-Men..." Zoe's eyes widened. 

"Exactly. Far as we know now, dey don' know Remy's missin'. If we call an' tell dem, dey'll get out dere full force an' find him an' Emil faster an' more efficiently den de Coast Guard, plus dey won' draw attention to anyone but demselves. An' dat, in turn, will take all de attention of de Guild." 

"How on earth did you manage to sit on dat idea all night an' not bust?" Mercy demanded. 

"I don' know, but can we do it?" 

"Of course!" Bella Donna exclaimed. "What de hell are we waitin' for? Call dem already!" 

"Wait now...!" 

All eyes turned to Tante Mattie, who was, as always, the voice of reason. She held her cordless phone in her hands, but refused to give it to one of them just yet. 

"Who are you gon' talk to? What if one of de chil'ren answer de phone? You can' jus' tell whoever answers de phone, you have to ask for someone you know will do somethin' 'bout it. We're tryin' to save Remy an' Emil here...don' jump in without t'inkin' first." 

"Should we talk directly to Professor Xavier?" Fifolet asked. 

"What if he's away on business?" Singer countered. They all understood what Tante Mattie was getting at and wanted to work it out for themselves. 

"Who's de second-in-command up dere?" Gris-Gris wanted to know. 

"I don' know...we shoulda asked Remy long 'go..." Bel replied. "Dat kinda information would come in handy right now." 

"I know who we should tell." Zoe grinned. "Storm." 

"Storm?" The five Assassins asked in unison. 

Mercy nodded. "Yeah. Ororo Munroe was de person who got Remy into de X-Men to b'gin wit'. Remy's always talkin' 'bout her an' what a great friend she is. Good idea, Zoe. So who's gon' call? Personally, I t'ink Theo should since it's his idea." 

Bel looked at the Assassins. She would have liked to make the call herself, being the Guild Viceroy and technically in charge without Remy around, but when her family nodded, she agreed with Mercy. "No disagreements here." 

Theoren glanced at her as he took the phone from Mattie. "Don' take dis de wrong way, Bel, but dat's kinda surprisin'..." 

"I know. Technically, I prob'ly should be de one to make de call, but when it comes down to it, Remy an' Emil are t'ieves an' if de Guilds weren' unified an' dis happened, you'd be makin' de call yourself anyway, as second-in-command of de T'ieves. So, go 'head. Makin' dis call is your job. We're merely here for support." Bel smiled. 

"T'anks guys." Theoren returned the smile. 

***** 

"Xavier School, Bobby Drake speaking." A chipper young voice answered the phone two rings after Theoren finished dialing the number. The voice belonged to one of the members of the X-Men, a young man by the name of Bobby Drake. 

"Hello, may I speak wit' Ms Munroe s'il vous plait?" Theoren asked as politely as he knew how. Tante Mattie had instilled good manners in all the Guild members from the time they were small children, but a lot of the time those lessons in manners were lost in the scuffle of what they did for a living. Theo was glad to have the opportunity to be nice and polite without having the ulterior motive of conning someone out of a fortune. 

"Sorry but Storm's teaching a class right now. Can I take a message and get her to call you back?" Bobby asked. 

Theoren rolled his eyes. "It's extremely important dat I talk to her...can' you get her out of class or somethin'? 

"You're kidding, right?" Bobby chuckled. "Interrupting one of Storm's history classes for anything but an emergency could be punishable in ways you'd rather not know about." 

"But dis is an emergency. Dat's why it's so important." Theoren forced himself to be as calm as possible. He didn't need to start sounding authoritative with the younger man. That wouldn't get him very far. 

"It is?" Bobby sounded surprised. "Okay...I'll see what I can do...hang on a sec." 

Five minutes later, a pleasant female voice came on the line. "Hello?" 

Theoren nearly passed out from relief. "Ms Munroe?" 

"Yes." 

"I'm really sorry to interrupt your class, but I'm pretty sure you won' mind when you hear what I have to tell you. First, I'm Theoren Marceaux, I'm Remy's cousin..." 

"One of the Thieves?" Ororo asked. 

"Oui. Um..." 

"Has something happened to Gambit?" 

Theoren swallowed. "Actually, yeah, dat's why I'm callin'. I don' know if you guys watch CNN or anythin' up dere, but Remy's vacation plans were to take one of our cousins to Florida for sailin' lessons an', well, dere was dis hurricane or somethin'..." 

"They were on the boat that was wrecked at sea during the hurricane?" Ororo's voice was low. 

"Yeah. De Coast Guard is out lookin' for dem right now, but it's kinda important dat dey don' find 'em...b'cause if dey do, dey'll find out who dey are an' who we are an'..." 

"And that, given who you are, would be a bad thing." Ororo finished. "I understand. Remy has always been very quiet when anything concerning the Guild came up. I will inform the rest of the X-Men immediately and we will do what we can to bring Remy and your cousin back safely with as little publicity as possible." 

"T'ank you..." Theoren whispered. He gave Ororo the phone number where they could be reached if needed, and hung up the phone. 

"Well?" The rest of the Guild members asked in one voice. 

"She said dey'll do what dey can. Sounded pretty concerned 'bout Remy, an' promised to keep it low-key so we don' get any publicity." Theoren informed them. 

"Good. Now all we have to do is wait." Bella Donna said. 

***** 

"Emil?" 

Remy's voice drifted out to Emil, who had been sitting on his rock for over an hour. Emil heard it and smiled, saying a quick thank you to God before jumping up and heading back into the shelter. 

"Hey." Emil said. "Welcome back to de wakin' world. Gave me quite a scare y'know dat? I know you're de Guild Patriarch an' all, but I swear if you ever put me t'rough somethin' like de las' two days 'gain, I'll never forgive you." 

"Sorry..." Remy replied with a cringe. He had tried to move and found that more than one part of his body was in a lot of pain. 

"Yeah, movin' ain' really an option right now, mon ami. Y'got a broken leg 'mong other t'ings. You ain' goin' nowhere without help. An' b'fore you ask, dere's no Tylenol or Advil or anythin' in either of our backpacks." 

"Damn." Remy muttered. "What were we t'inkin', not takin' painkillers wit' us?" 

"Beats me. Other den sore, how you feelin'?" 

"Hungry an' thirsty an' like dis vacation wasn' really de best idea I ever had." 

"Well, for hunger, we got food. Berries an' coconut an' stuff. For thirst, dere's a stream of water out dere...I'll get some. Hang on." Emil replied. 

Less than five minutes later he returned with a canteen full of water and a make-shift bowl filled with berries and bits of coconut, both of which he handed to Remy. 

"Here ya go. Ain' a meal fit for a Prince of T'ieves, but it'll have to do." Emil joked. 

Remy studied his cousin while he ate. In spite of the jokes and light-hearted banter, Emil was much more subdued and serious than Remy remembered him ever being in his life. "You've changed." 

Emil sighed. "Nice of you to notice, now if Theo also notices when we get home, I'll be set." 

"Emil..." Remy began. Emil cut him off. 

"Remy you didn' give me much of a choice. You went off on your own, fell down a huge, deep hole, broke your leg an' knocked yourself out an' essentially left me to my own devices! Hell yeah I changed...dis whole week has changed me..." 

"Like I said, not de best idea I've ever had." Remy said. "An' I never said de changes were bad ones. Looks to me like you did pretty well when left to your own devices, as you put it. Proves to me what Mercy's been tryin' to tell us both for years: you're more'n capable of takin' care of yourself an' takin' charge of a situation if you need to. If it takes dis week to make you realize dat, den maybe it wasn't such a bad idea after all." 

"Oh for cryin' out loud...I don' wan' grow up Remy, ain' you figured dat out yet? De second de others realize I can actually t'ink an' be mature an' stuff, dey'll expect dat all de time...I don' wan' change..." 

"No dey won'. I don'. We all know you too well to expect you to completely change, nor do any of us want to, except perhaps for Gris an' Theo. But de truth of de matter, Red, is dis. You can t'ink an' come up wit' some mature, workable solutions when the need arises, and dat's a great t'ing." 

"Yeah okay whatever." Emil sighed in defeat. He didn't feel like arguing the point with Remy any longer. "So how come I can' come up wit' a plan to get us off dis damned island, huh?" 

To Be Continued 


End file.
